MARIETTA, Ohio — No. 15 ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse used an 10-0 run in the closing minutes to defeat No. 17 Marietta College, 83-75, Friday (Nov. 11) evening in the first round of the 51st annual Marietta Shrine Tournament. The Eagles improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Pioneers fall to 0-1 overall.
A jumper from David Sanford with 3:12 left in the game gave Marietta a 74-72 lead. But Wisconsin-La Crosse scored the next 10 points to go in front, 82-74, with 36 seconds left on the clock. Torin Hannah scored on a fast break layup and then Henry Noone drained a three-pointer to spark the Eagle rally.
Lacrosse jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. Austin Westra had a layup and an old-fashioned three-point play. Marietta responded with a bucket from
Cooper Parrott (Willard, Ohio/Willard) and a three-pointer from
Jac Alexander (Port Clinton, Ohio/Oak Harbor) to tie the game at 7-7.
The teams traded small leads and the score was tied three times over the next seven minutes. The Eagles gradually built a seven-point lead, 34-27, with back-to-back three-pointers from Jake Gross and Craig Steele. Marietta trimmed the lead to one on two occasions and trailed 45-41 at halftime.
La Crosse scored two quick baskets to start the second half pushing the margin to eight points, 49-41. The Pioneers went on a 14-2 run to retake the lead. Layups from
Sahmi Willoughby (Groveport, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) and Jayden Bradshaw and three-pointers from Parrott and Jake Singleton triggered the MC run.
Noone nailed a triple for Lacrosse to end the Pioneer run and cut the Marietta lead to one, 55-54. The Pioneers held a small lead until Hannah hit a jumper with 9:01 left in the game to retake the lead for the Eagles, 68-67.
Buckets from
Frank Waganfeald (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) and Willoughby gave Marietta the lead back, 71-68. The Pioneers held the small lead until Ethan Anderson's jumper with 3:28 left tied the game, 72-72.
Willoughby led three Pioneers in double figures with 14 points. He grabbed five rebounds and blocked a pair of Eagle shots. Alexander finished with 13 points, while
Lovenson Xavier (Naples, Fla./Community School of Naples) had 11 points.
Westra led all scorers with 19 points. Anderson just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Noone hit five three-pointers and finished with 15 points.
In the first game of the night, Guilford defeated La Roche, 83-75. Marietta will play La Roche in the consolation game Saturday (Nov. 12) at 5 p.m. Guilford and Wisconsin-La Crosse will meet in the championship game at 7 p.m.
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
